An interview with Architect Trần Văn Huynh of H2 Workshop - The Jury of Tree House 2024 Architecture Competition

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to our jury member of the Tree House 2024 Architecture competition.

We’re delighted to speak with "Trần Văn Huynh", the founder of "H2 Workshop". He graduated from Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture in 2011. In 2014, he founded H2 Workshop, an architecture firm headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City.  

His design philosophy is to create spaces where people can immerse themselves in nature as much as possible, using design solutions that are close, friendly, and minimize impact on the surroundings and the people around.

We're excited to speak with him about his perspective on the field of architecture and their expectation from the participants of the Tree House 2024 Architecture Competition. For the purpose of this interview, he would be referred to as TVH in responses, however, Volume Zero is referred to as VZ.

TVH- The renovation project of Saigon Trade Hotel in 2014 - We learned from architect Li Xiaodong about using discarded wood materials as firewood for facade renovation.

The "The Ruộng" project in 2017 - We first worked on using local materials and local labor to create a harmonious structure in the fields. The "The Wave" project we co-designed with the H.A Workshop office in 2018 - The interesting aspect of the project is that on basic subdivided townhouse lots in Vietnam, we created a flexible space that can be relocated (we relocated it 3 times) using discarded materials such as wood scraps from sawmills and discarded granite from stone workshops.

The "Tree House by the Lake" project we designed in 2019 and completed construction in 2022. The interesting aspect of the project is that it is located in the middle of a forest of mahogany trees over 20 years old. Both the investor and we wanted to minimize the impact on the land as much as possible, so we created a treehouse using recycled materials from abandoned old projects. Old corrugated iron is the most prominent material of the project because, with the outer corrugated iron shell, the color of the material blends into the forest (the house seems to disappear among the trees). If you are walking on the road and don't pay attention, you won't see the house. The green trees were absolutely preserved (some trees were cut across to make pillars for the house).

TVH- Our most challenging project was "Tree House by the Lake." The issues we faced included designing a structure that did not disrupt the overall landscape, addressing technical challenges during construction while preserving the trees, making the house sway with the trees during storms, dealing with the impact of tree growth on the trees we used as pillars for the house, and accommodating the growth of trees surrounded by the staircase.

TVH- First, you must have a passion for the profession you are studying and will work in later because only passion can help us overcome difficult times (the startup phase is very challenging). Try to make the most effective use of available materials to create good architectural works. The adaptability of architecture to the local context is very important because the users of the building will use it right there.

TVH- We look forward to seeing your bold new ideas in this competition, but we also ask that you do not harm the trees that form the house or the forest that surrounds the house you design and build (something we also encountered during our design process, and we tried our best to minimize it). We hope that your treehouse designs will approach and utilize harmony with nature (humans are a part of nature).

TVH- The most challenging aspect when we took on our first treehouse project was how to create spaces that blend seamlessly and hide within the forest. Another challenge was the technical construction solution for this house. We failed in creating a restroom structure like a bird's nest hanging on the tree (our most passionate idea when designing this project).

TVH- Our perspective when designing treehouses, as mentioned above, is to create a house that blends seamlessly into the forest, where people live as simply as possible to adapt to nature, ensuring a high level of connectivity between humans and their surrounding environment. When the house is no longer in use, it should return the land to its original state. The materials used in the construction of the project should be reusable for another project (this is our principle and direction for the projects we are currently working on).